Sand-box.



Z Z'YIY u 72 d 8 I f a I I F. J.'PRANTZ. sAND BOX. APPLICATION FILED 00m. 4, 1909.

Patented July 12, 1910.

mlwhij; III- 9 FRED J. FRANTZ, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

SAND-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 4, 1909.

Patented July 12, 1910.

Serial No. 520,824.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED J. FRANTZ, a.

citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sand- Boxes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in sand-box mechanisms and particularly to sandbox mechanisms used with locomotives and streetcars; and an object of my invention is to provide a sand-box mechanism which will be simple in construction, comparatively cheap in manufacture and efficient, reliable and durable in use.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention and the best mode now known to me of applying that principle, Figurel is avertical section through so much of the floor of a street car as is necessary to illustrate my invention, and shows the position of the operating parts when the sandbox is closed; Fig. 2 is a section similar to Fig. 1 but shows the position of the operating parts when the sand-box is open; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the sand-box; Fig. 4. is a plan of the same; Fig. 5 is a sectional detail through the double sand-tube, the hinged door being shown open and the figure being drawn to a scale enlarged as compared with the scale of Figs. 3 and 4; Fig. 6 is a detail in plan of the car platform and shows the relative position of the sandboxes. This figure is on a scale reduced as compared with the scale on Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 7 is a bottom view of the hinged door which controls the sand-tube. This figure is drawn on the same scale as Fig. 4:.

To the floor I) of the car is fastened a hanger m in which is pivotally mounted a bell crank-lever y the upper arm a of which is arranged to lie near the lower end of the foot-pin 0 and the lower end of which is attached by a link t to the rocker-arm 2 which is mounted upon a square portion of the rocker-shaft a. Upon the latter is also mounted a rocker-arm '0. One end of a coilspring 3 is attached to the car-floor b and its other end is attached to the lower arm of the bell-crank y. The mechanism so far described is old and well known.

In the car-floor b there is formed a hole 4, provided with a cover f and adapted to receive the cover 6 of the sand-box 5. The latter is formed with a flange (4 at its top through which pass suitable fastening devices (not shown) by which the sand-box is attached to the lower face of the carfloor. The top of the sand-box 5 is formed with an opening surrounded by a rim 6 over which snugly fits the cover 0 and through which the sand may be poured into the sandbox to replenish the supply. The sand-box is wider at its rear than at its front; that is, its sides converge forwardly. The sides also converge downwardly. Again, the bottom of the sand-box is inclined to the horizontal. Over the top of the sandbox is fastened a hanger-strap g the ends of which are bent downwardly to form ears. Through perforations in the latter are passed hooks 7 formed on the ends of coil-springs h which are mounted in tubular casings 2'. These casings are located one on each side of the sand-box near the front thereof and are closed at the top and bottom except that they are formed with holes of size just sufficient to allow the ends of the coil-springs 72, to play freely through them. They are soldered to the sand-box.

The bottom of the sand-box is provided with a double sand-tube; that is, it is provided with a sand-tube proper It, the upper end of which is fitted in an opening in the bottom of the sand-box; and this sand-tube is surrounded by the housing or casing Z which is fastened to the sand-box and supported by the brace n and to the lower end of which is fastened the protecting cover 6 at one side and the hinge m at the opposite side. The movable leaf of the hinge m is fastened to the door 70 which is adapted and designed to control the flow of sand from the sand-box 5 through the sand-tube proper k and is protected from the elements by the guard 0. To the door p is fastenpd a hanger-strap q the'ends of which are turned upwardly to form ears through perforations in which pass hooks 8 formed on the lower ends of the coil-springs h. A bracket 7 is riveted to the bottom of the door ;0 and through a hole in it passes the threaded lower end of the link-rod s, the upper end of which is squared and is fastened to the rocker-arm o by the bolt d and the lower end of which is fastened to the bracket 71 by the nuts to. It will be obvious that by loosening the latter the position of the linkrod 8 may be adjusted so as efficiently to control the position of the door p.

My new sand-box is made principally of galvanized iron with all seams and joints made double so as to be perfectly watertight.

The operation of the mechanism hereinbefore described will be obvious from the foregoing description and an inspection of the drawings. The motorman or engineer steps upon the foot-pin a, when he desires to sand the track, thereby throwing the mechanism into the position shown in Fig. 2. Here the link-rod s is drawn upwardly and the door 79 opens, as is illustrated in Fig. 5. Upon the withdrawal of the pressure of the foot from the top of the foot-pin a, the coil-spring 3 restores the parts to the position shown in Fig. 1 and closes the door 72, thereby stopping the flow of sand.

I claim:

1. A sand-box provided with a sand-tube; a door for controlling the latter; and a guard for protecting the door.

2. A sand-box provided with an outlet; a door which controls the latter; coil-springs which control said door; and housings for said springs, the ends thereof extending throu h the top and bottom of said housings. 3. A sand-box provided with a sand-tube; a housing for the latter; a door which is hinged to said housing and controls said sand-tube; and yielding devices which control said door.

4. A sand-box provided with a sand-tube; a housing for the latter; a door which is hinged to said housing and controls the said sand-tube; mechanism for controlling said door; and a guard for protecting said door. 5. A sand-box provided with an outlet; a housing for the latter; a door which controls said outlet and which is pivotally mounted on said housing; mechanism for controlling said door; and a guard which is carried by said housing and which protects said door. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at said Louisville, Kentucky, this tenth day of September A. D., 1909, in the presence of the two undersigned witnesses.

FRED J. FRANTZ.

lVitnesses L. A. HICKMAN, L. FRANK Wrrrrnns. 

